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This one isn’t on Tony Romo, but instead the team’s most productive defensive player in 2015 – DeMarcus Lawrence. The defensive end underwent a back surgery recently, but is expected to make a full recovery.

“We expect him back fairly soon,” head coach Jason Garrett said at the Senior Bowl last week. “We’ll see. We don’t want to put it definitively, but we think he’s going to be okay.”

The Cowboys obviously need Lawrence to be healthy, and to continue his progression. Only 24, he led the team with eight sacks this season and played in all 16 games. He missed the first seven games of his rookie season with a broken foot and after this season had finger surgery.

Not a lot is known about the back surgery, but any time a football player has those two words attached to his name it’s scary.

Given the uncertainty of Greg Hardy and the Cowboys’ inability to create turnovers, they desperately need all the pass rushers they can get. Lawrence, a 2nd-round pick from Boise two years ago, has the athleticism to be that guy. He recorded seven of his sacks in the final eight games.

Of all the off-season concerns, the Cowboys do not another headache. Or backache.

A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.